"VIA" 2005 Obituary

VIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-07-15 published
Harold RENOUF,
OttawaMandarin: 1917-2005
Plucked from a successful Halifax accounting firm by Pierre Trudeau,
he tackled inflation with the Anti-Inflation Board and the oil
industry through the National Energy Program, then made
VIA's
trains run on time
By F.F. LANGAN,
Special to The Globe and Mail, Friday, July 15,
2005, Page S7
Harold RENOUF was an accountant and company director from Halifax
who left corporate life at the peak of his career for a stint
in public service and ended up running two of the most controversial
agencies of the Trudeau era: the Anti-Inflation Board and the
Petroleum Monitoring Agency.
Rising prices and wages were a hot topic of the 1970s. One of
the critics of the government at the time was Mr.
RENOUF, then
president of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
In the federal election of 1974, Tory leader Robert Stanfield
ran on a platform of bringing in wage-and-price controls to control
inflation. The prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, mocked him with
the throwaway line: "Zap, you're frozen."
It was one of the issues that won Mr. Trudeau a majority government.
But, by the following year, inflation was far from frozen. It
was running at an annual rate of 10.6 per cent. Mr. Trudeau changed
his mind and introduced wage-and-price controls in the fall of
At the time, the Anti-Inflation Board was headed by Jean Luc
Pepin, a defeated Liberal candidate and former cabinet minister.
Mr. Trudeau wanted to make a change, but there was a matter of
regional representation to be considered. In the end, the man
the prime minister wanted was from Atlantic Canada. He was Harold
RENOUF, an accountant with Liberal Party connections who had
criticized government policy on inflation.
"When Trudeau called him on Thanksgiving weekend of 1975, Dad
said to us: 'I guess I've got to put my energy where my mouth
is.' And he accepted," said Janet
RENOUF, his daughter. He retired
as chairman of H.R. Doane, the accounting firm where he had worked
since 1938, and moved to Ottawa.
When Mr. Pepin left as head of the Anti-Inflation Board, Mr.
RENOUF took over as its second chairman. There was much debate
at the time whether the government's anti-inflation policies
had any effect or whether the natural slowdown of the economy
would have produced the same results.
The policy was not popular. Business did not like controls on
its prices and profits, and unions didn't like caps on pay increases.
Stewart Cooke, head of the United Steelworkers union, said all
the controls did was bring in a recession.
Mr. RENOUF defended the Anti-Inflation Board's policies, pointing
out that the average wage increase in 1975 was 21 per cent but,
by early 1978, pay hikes were down to 7.5 per cent. And furthermore,
the Anti-Inflation Board had rolled back $370-million in corporate
dividends. The Liberal government gradually wound down the Anti-Inflation
Board. In 1978, 27 months after they were brought in, the controls
were lifted. Then, in March of 1979, the finance minister, Jean
CHRÉTIEN, renamed the body the National Commission on Inflation.
Mr. RENOUF was made chairman of the new organization, but, by
then, its powers were sharply reduced.
The inflation watchdog soon died altogether when the government
switched its attentions to a new bugbear: high oil prices. Mr.
RENOUF was at the forefront of that policy, too, and, in 1980,
was named head of the Petroleum Monitoring Agency. Its job was
to collect information on the oil and gas industry, including
measuring what percentage of it was Canadian owned.
The agency was the operating arm of the government's national
energy program, brought in by energy minister Marc Lalonde. That
policy created an even more virulent reaction from the public
than had wage-and-price controls. In Western Canada, it was detested.
Later, the National Energy Program would be blamed for reducing
Alberta's share of the overall Canadian economy from 14 per cent
to a little more than 10 per cent, though the plummeting price
of oil -- from $40 (U.S.) in 1980 to $11 in 1986 -- was also
responsible.
A diminutive man, Mr.
RENOUF was a capitalist at heart, and the
criticism of his fellow business leaders upset him. But he was
also a man who, once on a mission, did what he set out to do.
In this case, it was to increase Canadian ownership in the oil
and gas industry.
"He was shocked at the reaction [in Western Canada] and he felt
badly about it," said Ms.
RENOUF. "
But he had a sense of doing
what was right for the greater good."
Mr. RENOUF found out about the oil industry's reaction early
on. In October of 1980, he went to Calgary to speak to certain
business executives who looked on the government's policies as
a form of nationalization. The accountant from Halifax tried
to reassure them.
"I cannot state that we will always agree with industry on substantive
matters, but I can promise co-operation, independence in our
actions and attitudes," Mr.
RENOUF told that skeptical Alberta
audience. "Although I cannot be out front of my minister on the
substance of Canadianization programs, it should be obvious that
an accurate assessment of ownership levels will be essential."
His audience did not find that obvious at all, and never came
round to Ottawa's way of thinking on energy.
After the energy posting, his last major government job was in
Montreal as chairman of Via Rail. There, he used to say he was
proudest of a small achievement, saving the murals by famous
Canadian artists painted on the inner walls of some long-distance
rail cars. When he and the president of Via heard they were going
to be destroyed, they moved quickly to preserve them.
His family joked that he kept trying to retire, and did so five
times before finally returning to Halifax and his beloved cottage
at Pictou Landing.
Harold RENOUF was the
son of a sea captain, a master mariner
named John
RENOUF, who gave him a lifelong love of boats and
the ocean. He was born in Sandy Point, a tiny community on Newfoundland's
southwest coast that no longer exists but whose dunes and salt
marshes remain such a favourite location for migrating birds
that there is now a movement to turn it into a nature preserve.
There was a lot of French in his background. His mother's maiden
name was LEROUX, and
RENOUF was originally a French name. The
family traces its lineage to Jersey, the largest of Britain's
Channel Islands off the French coast. Young Harold's line of
the RENOUF family left Newfoundland around 1920 and moved to
Halifax. He later studied commerce at Dalhousie University.
In 1938, he joined the accounting firm of H.R. Doane and became
a partner in 1942. He was chairman of the firm from 1967 to 1975,
when he left for the Anti-Inflation Board. Even before then,
he had been involved with government commissions and studies,
among them the royal commission on gasoline and diesel pricing
in Nova Scotia and the royal commission on the milk industry.
The latter was partly responsible for setting up a marketing-board
system for dairy farmers in Canada.
Mr. RENOUF was on the board of a number of private companies,
including two British insurance firms. An anglophile, Mr.
RENOUF
enjoyed travelling to directors' meetings in London. A devoted
family man, he often extended his visits to private vacations
(a scrupulous number cruncher, he always paid his own way) in
which he brought along his wife or met some of his children already
in London.
When they were growing up, he tried to introduce his children
to as much theatre and music as possible. The family would travel
to Boston, New York City and Stratford for museums, theatre and
plays. At home, he funded a trust to endow part of the New Glasgow
Music Festival, an annual event to encourage young musicians
from northern Nova Scotia. The winner of the festival receives
a silver bowl and a cash prize from the Rose Bowl Trust funded
by Mr. RENOUF.
Mr. RENOUF liked to fish for trout on Lawlor's Lake in Guysborough
County, Nova Scotia, and read mysteries and adventures -- in
particular, the swashbuckling sea stories of Patrick O'Brian.
In 1979, he was made an officer of the Order of Canada and, in
1981, was awarded an honorary doctorate from Dalhousie.
Harold Augustus
RENOUF was born on June 15, 1917, in Sandy Point,
Newfoundland. He died in Halifax on July 4, 2005, after suffering
a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and his
four children, Janet, Ann, Robert and Susan. A memorial service
is planned for Monday at St. Andrew's United Church in Halifax.

VIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-02-09 published
GOMES,
ShirleyArmstrong (née
MARKLE)
After a valiant battle with cancer, Shirley passed away peacefully
at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, surrounded by her loving
family, on Tuesday, February 8, 2005. Wife of the late Vernon.
She was the loved mother of Nancy and grandmother of Simon. Shirley
will also be deeply missed by her chosen daughters Tere, Claudia,
Elizabeth and her extended family and close Friends, to whom
she was a great source of guidance and inspiration. We would
like to express our gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to her
Friends from
VIARail who filled her life with much love and
support. Shirley was the pillar of her family, and will continue
to be the light of our lives forever. Her strength will be with
us always. The family will receive Friends at the Humphrey Funeral
Home - A.W. Miles Chapel, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Eglinton
Avenue East), from 7-9 p.m. Thursday and 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Friday.
Service at Cosburn United Church, 1108 Greenwood Avenue on Saturday,
February 12 at one o'clock. If desired, donations may be made
to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, 790 Bay Street, Suite
1000, Toronto, M5G 1N8, 416-596-6773.

VIA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-02-23 published
GRANATA,
Salvatore
After a courageous fight at Trillium Hospital, Mississauga Site,
on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005. Salvatore
GRANATA, cherished
husband of Anna. Loving father of Joanne
VANELLI,
AdrianaGRANATA,
Mary and her husband John
TRICANICO and Carla
SBROCHI.
Dearest
Nonno of 7 grandchildren and 1 expected great-grandchild. Beloved
brother of Rosa
VIA,
ErmelindaMENONTE, Nichola
GRANATA and the
late Antonio
GRANATA.
Fondly remembered by his nieces, nephews
and many Friends. Family and Friends will be received at Scott
Funeral Home, Mississauga Chapel, 420 Dundas Street East (one
block west of Cawthra Road at Hensall Circle), Mississauga, on
Thursday from 7-9 p.m. and Friday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral
Mass in Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 4070 Central Parkway
East, Mississauga (north of Burnhamthorpe Rd. East), Saturday
at 10 a.m. Entombment Assumption Cemetery (Tomken Rd. and Derry
Rd.). In Salvatore's memory, donations may be made to The Ontario
Heart and Stroke Foundation.

VIAENE o@ca.on.kent_county.wallaceburg.wallaceburg_courier_press 2005-03-09 published
BOHEZ,
WillyGaston
Willy Gaston
BOHEZ a resident of Wallaceburg passed away unexpectedly
on Sunday, March 6, 2005 at the age of 67. Willy was a retired
owner of RBMContractors who loved the outdoors, spending time
with his nephews and was an avid woodworker and gardener. He
is the son of Julia
(DEWAELE) and the late Emiel
BOHEZ.
Beloved
best friend and husband of Antoinette
(BRAET.)
Loving uncle and
uncle-in-law of Linda
OCOVICH and Koen
VIAENE,
DamienBRAET and Elizabeth
WALLACE,
Justin and Amanda
BRAET and Julien, Gino and Mario
BRAET.
Dear great uncle of Emma and brother-in-law of Gerard and Janet
MAHIEU-
BRAET,
Roger and Judith
BRAET and the late Jose and Allette
BRAET.
Willy also a special friend of Nellie
VANRUYMBEKE. A private
family funeral will be held at the Haycock-Cavanagh Funeral Home,
409 Nelson Street in Wallaceburg for his close family and Friends.
If desired, you are welcome to leave remembrances to the Canadian
Cancer Society at the funeral home. (519) 627-3231.

VIAENE o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-11-24 published
DAFOE,
Myrtle
(FLEMING/FLEMMING)
Peacefully at Meadow Park Nursing Home, on Tuesday, November
22, 2005, Myrtle
(FLEMING/FLEMMING)
DAFOE of Lambeth in her 93rd year.
Beloved wife of the late Gilbert
DAFOE (2003.) Loving mother
of Doreene and Gerald
GOWANLOCK,
Ted and Evelyn
DAFOE, Linda
and John MacKAY and Judy
VIAENE and Paul
FERGUSON, all of the
London area. Proud grandmother of 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren
and 1 great-great-grand_son. Dearly loved by her sister Ethel
BELL and 2 brothers Jack and Mac
FLEMING/FLEMMING. Dear sister-in-law
of Ralph and June
DAFOE.
Predeceased by her two sons Allan (1936)
and Gerald (1959). Friends may call at the McFarlane and Roberts
Funeral Home, (2240 Wharncliffe Road South, Lambeth) on Friday
from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. where the complete Funeral Service will
be held on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 3: 00 p.m. with Rev.
Kristiane CHARLTON officiating. Interment Avon Cemetery at a
later date. Donations to the Littlewood United Church or the
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation gratefully acknowledged. Please
sign the Family Book of Condolence at www.obituariestoday.com

VIAU o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-01-10 published
GROSE,
Wallace "
Wally"
(World War 2 Veteran. Former Credit Manager for Sherwin Williams
Paint Company and Noranda Mines) Passed away suddenly at Lakeridge
Health in Port Perry on Sunday, January 9, 2005 at the age of
83. Wally GROSE dearly beloved husband of Babs
GROSE of Port
Perry and the late Nora
GROSE. Dear father of Sheila
MOORE
(SergeVIAU) of Lively, Ontario. Dear brother of Ruth
HOOPER of Winnipeg
and predeceased by his brothers Rex and Glen and his sister Jean.
At the request of Wally
GROSE there will be no funeral service.
Cremation. Memorial donations to the Community Memorial Hospital
Foundation, 451 Paxton Street, Port Perry, Ontario L9L 9Z9 would
be appreciated. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Low and Low Funeral
Home, Port Perry. 905-985-7331.

VIAU o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-31 published
KING,
MargueriteAnn (née
LUDWIG)
Peacefully, on December 26, 2005, in Toronto, at the age of 93.
Beloved wife of the late George "Joe"
KING.
Beloved mother of
Robert (Dominique
VIAU,)
CarolWATSON, Patricia
MELANSON (Jean-Louis,)
and John (Cathy
TOROK,) and step-mother of the late Helen, Allan
and Dolores
LEE
(Earl.)
She will be sadly missed by her grandchildren,
Robert, Paul, David, Charles (Kelly), and Courtney. Visitation
and a Celebration of Life will be held at the Gibson Long-Term
Care Centre, 1925 Steeles Avenue East (near Leslie), Toronto,
on Friday, January 6, 2006, from 2: 00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Grateful
thanks from Marguerite's family to the staff at the Gibson for
their care and support in the last years of her life. There will
be a private interment in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery family
plot. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Heart
and Stroke Foundation or a charity of your choice.